


You've Found Me

by lockyeol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Red String of Fate, Romance, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 09:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8157644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lockyeol/pseuds/lockyeol
Summary: Kyungsoo has always dreamed of meeting his soulmate but when his red string appears on his 25th birthday, he doesn't do anything about it due to some deeply ingrained fears that keep him from running after his fate.
It's a good thing that Baekhyun doesn't mind doing all of the running.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ages of the main characters have been adjusted to match the story.

It’s been three months since Kyungsoo’s 25th birthday and Chanyeol hasn’t shut his mouth once since then.

“I can’t believe you’re still sitting around doing nothing!”

Kyungsoo glances over his shoulder to where Chanyeol is standing, leaning his hip on the stainless steel counter top located on the right side of the kitchen.

“I’m not sitting,” Kyungsoo points out, wrist deep in dough.  He’s working on a new scone recipe, something that will cater to the masses now that the weather has gotten warmer.  Chanyeol scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest, forearms obscuring the stitched _Cool Beans_ logo on his black apron.

Their boss has a strange sense of humor.

“You know what I mean,” Chanyeol whines while walking over to Kyungsoo and draping his lanky body on Kyungsoo’s back.  He’s like a leech.  “Why haven’t you looked for him?”

Now it’s Kyungsoo’s turn to scoff.  “How are you so sure that it’s a guy?”

“Because you’re gay,” Chanyeol states, winding his arms tighter around Kyungsoo when the smaller man tries to elbow him away.  “Fate wouldn’t screw you over like that by making your soulmate a woman.”

Just hearing the word _soulmate_ has Kyungsoo’s heart skipping a beat.  He comes off as cold and uncaring and doesn’t bother to correct people when they assume that he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anything.  He keeps his emotions to himself and holds everything close to his heart, so no one knows how he truly feels about anything without him revealing it.  It seems like he doesn’t care -- after all, it’s been months since the day his string appeared -- and he hasn’t made a move to figure out who his soulmate is.

Kyungsoo actually cares a lot.

He’s a romantic at heart, a gooey liquid center with a hard outer shell, and he’s dreamed about his 25th birthday ever since he was a teenager.  But he’s scared.  Scared of any possible rejection despite the fact that soulmates are catered to one another.  People are complete on their own, but your soulmate fills in the gaps.  They’re strong where you are weak, they’re vivid where you are dull.  Your soulmate shouldn’t have an immediate reason to reject you but Kyungsoo’s insecurities are so deeply ingrained, there’s no room for logic once he falls into that dark pit.

“Get off of me, you big oaf.”

Chanyeol sighs and Kyungsoo punches the ball of dough as the tall barista skulks away, muttering something about how his break is over anyway.  The door that leads from the kitchen to the cafe swings open and shut, and Kyungsoo punches the dough a few more times, the blood red string looped around his right pinky fluttering with the movement.

If he imagines that it’s Chanyeol’s face, well, that’s no one’s business but his own.

☕ ☕ ☕

Weeks pass and Kyungsoo -- begrudgingly -- admits to himself that Chanyeol may be right for once in his life.  He has to meet his soulmate at some point and he’d rather it be on his terms.  Kyungsoo isn’t a fan of surprises, never has been, so in the end it would be more comfortable to push himself to find his soulmate rather than having his soulmate find him.

He’s at work in the kitchen, washing dirty bowls and spatulas, thinking about what his plan of attack should be.  He has this upcoming Thursday off, but what if his soulmate doesn’t live in the city?  Will he need more than a day to find them?  Kyungsoo harshly grips a soapy whisk and takes deep, calming breaths.  Just _thinking_ about it is making his anxiety flare.  How is he going to survive actively searching for this person?  Kyungsoo finishes cleaning the whisk and rinses it, setting it in the drainer next to the sink to dry.  Mere moments later Chanyeol bursts into the kitchen, chest heaving, and points at Kyungsoo with a shaky hand.

“What is it?” Kyungsoo asks while taking his hands out of the sink and drying them on his apron.  “Did you drop a tray of muffins again?”

Chanyeol’s answer is ominous.

“He’s here.”

Kyungsoo’s brow furrows.  “What on Earth--”

Chanyeol cuts him off, crossing the kitchen with his long giraffe legs in three strides, and digs his fingers into Kyungsoo’s shoulders.

“Your soulmate,” Chanyeol says, enunciating every syllable.  “He’s here.”

Kyungsoo’s stomach swoops and his eyes are wider than the chocolate donuts he bakes every Sunday.  He tries to ask Chanyeol how the barista knows that this person is his soulmate -- couldn’t it be someone else? -- but the only thing that comes out of Kyungsoo’s mouth is a strangled noise.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

Kyungsoo _hates_ surprises.

Using his strength that he so rarely displays, Chanyeol flips Kyungsoo around and steers him out of the kitchen, pushing them both through the swinging door.  Kyungsoo usually isn’t in the actual cafe, his baking duties keeping him confined to the kitchen, but that’s the way he prefers it.  The first person that Kyungsoo sees is his boss, Minseok, and then his gaze lands on someone on the other side of the counter, located where customers pick up their drinks.  The stranger lifts up his left hand and when Kyungsoo sees a thin shock of red, he nearly faints.  He follows the line all the way from the stranger’s pinky, over the counter and across the tile floor, to his own hand that’s hanging limply at his side.  He wiggles his pinky, watching the string wave slightly, and looks up into the stranger’s -- no, his _soulmate’s_ \-- eyes.

Once again, Chanyeol was right; his soulmate is definitely a man.  One who’s pretty at first glance and even more pretty the longer that Kyungsoo stares at him.  Pretty chestnut hair and pretty lips shaped in a pretty rectangular smile that gradually turns strained with the more time that passes.  Oh, right.  Kyungsoo should probably introduce himself instead of being an absolute creep.  Kyungsoo stiffly walks up to the counter, brushing past Minseok, and holds out his hand.

“I’m Kyungsoo.”

His soulmate’s smile comes back full force and it’s even more dazzling up close.  He raises his hand, slotting his palm against Kyungsoo’s, and grips his fingers before shaking Kyungsoo’s hand.

“My name’s Baekhyun,” his soulmate shares, still holding on to Kyungsoo’s hand although he has no reason to.  His skin is warm and soft, his fingers lithe but strong.  “And I’m so excited to meet you, soulmate.”

☕ ☕ ☕

After the handshake that devolved into awkward hand holding, Minseok popped up behind Kyungsoo and told him to take the rest of the day off so that he and Baekhyun can get to know each other.  Kyungsoo ignores the wink that Chanyeol throws him and kicks the barista in the shin before he leaves.  It’s a little after one o'clock and Baekhyun slyly says something about being hungry, so Kyungsoo lets his soulmate drag him to a small bistro located a couple of blocks away from _Cool Beans_.  He doesn’t take in any of the decor and orders without much thought because he’s more focused on Baekhyun than anything else.  After Baekhyun pays and takes their order number, he leads Kyungsoo to an isolated table near the front window and plops down in one of the seats.  Kyungsoo sits down across from him, back straight as a rod, and gently rests his hands on the shining wood.

“I can pay you back,” Kyungsoo murmurs.  “You didn’t have to buy my lunch.”

Baekhyun chuckles, flicking his bangs out of his eyes.  “Don’t worry about it.  You can pay the next time we go out.”

“Next time?” Kyungsoo squeaks, coughing after to cover up the break in his voice.  Fuck.  He’s falling apart already and it hasn’t even been an hour since they’ve met.  His calm, unaffected exterior crumbled the second that he saw the string knotted on Baekhyun’s pinky.

“Well, yeah.  We’re soulmates.  We’re going to be spending a lot of time together.”

Before Kyungsoo can say anything else, probably stick his foot in his mouth again, their order number is called and Baekhyun jumps up to gather their food.  The tray Baekhyun comes back carrying is laden with food; two turkey and avocado sandwiches, two bags of chips, a cup of soup, and two bottles of water.  Baekhyun sets the tray down and Kyungsoo snatches one of the waters, hastily screwing off the top so he can take a long drink from it.  The sandwich looks delicious but Kyungsoo isn’t all that hungry so he settles for the kettle cooked potato chips, munching on them slowly as Baekhyun all but devours his sandwich.

“You weren’t lying when you said that you were hungry, huh?”

Baekhyun looks up at Kyungsoo, cheeks stuffed, and his eyes curve up into amused crescents.  Kyungsoo normally finds such table manners appalling but right now he isn’t annoyed or disgusted.  He’s endeared by the way that Baekhyun enjoys his food, humming delightedly as he chews, wiggling from side to side in the chair.  Kyungsoo feels a weight on his foot and Baekhyun flashes him a secretive smile, the weight lightly knocking against his ankle before it withdraws.

“So, uhm.  What do you do?  For work, I mean.”

_Real smooth, Kyungsoo.  You’re such a charmer._

Baekhyun drinks from his mug of creamy tomato soup, fingers wrapped beautifully around the porcelain.  Kyungsoo might just be a little bit obsessed already.

“I own a record shop,” Baekhyun replies, pride swimming in his eyes.  “It’s about twenty minutes away from where you work.  Byun’s Beats?”

“I’ve heard of it from Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says, setting down his now empty bag of chips.  He’s never been there himself but he’s always wanted to go.  Now he has more of a reason to.  “That tall tree of a man lives and breathes music so he’s there whenever his free time allows.”

“I thought he looked familiar,” Baekhyun mumbles under his breath, but it’s still loud enough for Kyungsoo to hear.  “I wonder if he recognized me.”

“Probably.  And I bet he’s bummed that you’re my soulmate and not his,” Kyungsoo jokes, more of his real personality coming through now that he’s starting to relax.

Baekhyun’s laughter is bright and tinkling and he takes one more sip from the mug before placing it on the tray with the rest of their trash and used dishes.

“Would _you_ be bummed?” Baekhyun inquires while reaching for Kyungsoo’s sandwich and taking a bite out of it.  “If I were his soulmate and not yours.”

It’s obvious that Baekhyun is teasing him but there’s an air of seriousness behind his lilting tone.  Kyungsoo doesn’t know much about Baekhyun, not yet, and his personality is reminiscent of Chanyeol’s which, you know, _eww_.  Overall though, he likes Baekhyun.  He likes how sunny Baekhyun’s disposition is, he likes the small freckle above his upper lip, and he likes the fact that Baekhyun hasn’t run in the other direction even though he’s made a fool of himself more than once.  Kyungsoo slides his foot forward under the table, nudging Baekhyun’s calf with the toe of his sneaker.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo answers, his soulmate’s pleased grin washing over him like a ray of sunshine.  “I would be.”

☕ ☕ ☕

They spend nearly three hours together in the bistro, talking about anything and everything that comes to their minds.  Kyungsoo learns that Baekhyun has an older brother who majored in business and that he was a huge help during the entire process of planning and opening _Byun’s Beats_.  He also learns that Baekhyun’s parents live two cities away but that he calls them twice a week to keep them updated on his life.

“They’re going to freak out when I tell them that I found my soulmate,” Baekhyun says with a grin.

Kyungsoo tells him about his own family life; no siblings and both parents live just outside of the city in the house that Kyungsoo grew up in.  Kyungsoo has a passion for baking so when his friend Minseok opened his own cafe, he immediately hired Kyungsoo to make various treats to go with the drink menu.  Baekhyun currently lives with his friend Jongdae in a building situated across the street from his record store.  Kyungsoo lives alone but he has a black cat named Spaghetti to keep him company whenever he gets lonely.

“Why is he named Spaghetti?”

“She,” Kyungsoo corrects.  “And she’s named Spaghetti because I lost a bet to Chanyeol and he got to pick her name.”

Baekhyun giggles, demurely covering his mouth with his hand.  “I’d say that you got lucky.  It could have been a lot worse.”

Kyungsoo agrees, catching the gaze of a disgruntled employee at the counter behind Baekhyun who’s been giving them the evil eye for over an hour.  It’s the push that he needs to finally leave the bistro with his soulmate in tow, a soft breeze ruffling his hair and abating some of the heat that permeates the city in the summer.

“I should get back to the store,” Baekhyun sighs, eyes squinting from the brightness of the mid-afternoon sun.  “Make sure that Jongdae didn’t burn it to the ground in my absence.”

Kyungsoo nods, staring at his feet, and the awkward energy he was feeling before starts to come back full force.  They already traded phone numbers so there’s nothing Kyungsoo can think of to keep Baekhyun around for a little while longer.  He’s suddenly enveloped by a pair of arms and held against a warm, surprisingly firm chest.  They’re the same height so they fit together quite nicely with Baekhyun resting his chin on Kyungsoo’s shoulder.  Kyungsoo bristles from the unexpected contact but quickly relaxes, breathing in the clean, citrusy scent of Baekhyun’s shampoo.

“I had a great time with you, soulmate.  Let’s meet again soon, okay?”

Baekhyun pulls away, hooking his left pinky with Kyungsoo’s right, and Kyungsoo hopes that he doesn’t look as starry eyed as he feels.

“Yeah.  Definitely.”

☕ ☕ ☕

The more time that passes, the more enamored Kyungsoo becomes with Baekhyun.  A few weeks have passed since their first meeting, their first _date_ , and they’ve chatted every single day and have seen each other at least once a week.  Kyungsoo finally found time to check out _Byun’s Beats_ and endured a lot of good natured ribbing from Jongdae who happened to be working that day.  He gave just as much as he got and by the end of the trip Jongdae was hiding from Kyungsoo’s sharp tongue in the back of the store.  Baekhyun was endlessly amused by the entire thing and told Kyungsoo as much before he left with a kiss on his cheek and the words whispered against Kyungsoo’s flushed skin.

Summer is now in full swing, the sweltering temperatures making every trip outdoors the true definition of misery.  Kyungsoo and Baekhyun haven’t been on many outings lately and tonight won’t be any different.  Baekhyun is going to come over after he closes down the shop, well after the sun has set and the heat becomes a little less oppressive.  It’ll be his first time over to Kyungsoo’s place and the dark haired male is incredibly nervous.  After his shift at work ended he came home and immediately started cleaning, dusting and scrubbing and vacuuming until his arms turned to jelly.  His apartment was already clean but he wanted it to be spotless for Baekhyun’s first visit.  There’s still a niggling fear in the back of his mind that Baekhyun will find him unsatisfactory for some reason, so he wants to put his best foot forward in every way that he can.

Kyungsoo knows that he’s being ridiculous but he can’t help it.  He falls back onto his leather sofa, breathing in deeply and pushing the air out slowly.  Baekhyun likes him.  He likes Baekhyun.  Things have been great so far.  Spaghetti comes out of her hiding place in his bedroom, previously scared by the noise of the vacuum, and leaps up onto the couch, rubbing her head on Kyungsoo’s arm until he starts scratching behind her ears.

Everything will be okay.

☕ ☕ ☕

At 9:05 PM Kyungsoo’s doorbell rings and he jumps up from the couch, jostling Spaghetti from her place on his lap.  He smooths down his hair and his t-shirt and he checks to make sure the zipper on his jeans is pulled up.  When he opens the door he’s greeted by a tired but smiling Baekhyun.  Kyungsoo steps back to let Baekhyun into his apartment and Baekhyun kicks off his shoes at the door before wandering out into the open layout of the kitchen and living room.  Baekhyun doesn’t scrutinize and simply makes himself at home, squealing when he spots Spaghetti perched on the arm of the couch.

“Oh, Spaghetti!  You’re precious!”

Spaghetti preens under Baekhyun’s attention, purring loudly when Baekhyun scratches under her chin and runs his hand from the top of her head to the base of her tail.  Kyungsoo absentmindedly thinks that he wouldn’t mind having Baekhyun pet him like that but they haven’t had their first kiss yet so Kyungsoo squashes the dirty thought and sweeps it under the rug.

“Almost as precious as your owner,” Baekhyun sing-songs.  Warmth crawls from Kyungsoo’s chest all the way up to his face and he has an urge to trap Baekhyun in a back hug, feel his soulmate pressed snugly against him.  Baekhyun jumps slightly, not expecting such a bold move from his meek soulmate, but he happily lets Kyungsoo hold him and rests his hands on Kyungsoo’s where they’re joined over his belly button.

“Precious, huh?” Kyungsoo whispers against the shell of Baekhyun’s ear.  Baekhyun wiggles in Kyungsoo’s hold, turning himself around so he’s nose to nose with his soulmate.

“Absolutely,” Baekhyun says, warm breath ghosting over Kyungsoo’s lips.  Baekhyun leans in, closing that miniscule gap, and Kyungsoo swears that he’s never experienced a more perfect kiss in his lifetime.  It’s shy and sweet, a simple press of lips, but it has Kyungsoo’s heart galloping.  When Baekhyun pulls away a low whine vibrates in Kyungsoo’s throat and he would be thoroughly embarrassed by it if Baekhyun weren’t looking at him like Kyungsoo’s the best thing he’s ever seen.

“You told me before that you were nervous,” Baekhyun murmurs, snaking his arms around Kyungsoo’s shoulders, his fingers playing with the hair on Kyungsoo’s nape.  “About meeting your soulmate.  How do you feel now?”

Kyungsoo thinks carefully about how he wants to word his answer.  He was nervous, yes, downright _scared_ , and in his mind he was a bumbling fool during their first interaction, but things got much easier after that.  With the more time that they spend together, the more that they talk, his worries are slowly melting into nothing.  He still has some lingering insecurities -- he’s only human -- but he’s finding it less difficult to move past them every time that Baekhyun smiles at him, or sends him a selfie in the morning with his bedhead and swollen face, or holds his hand no matter where they are or what they’re doing.

“I’m grateful,” Kyungsoo responds after his contemplative silence.  “I’m grateful that you came and found me, even when I thought I wasn’t ready.  I’m grateful that you’re kind and affectionate.  I’m grateful that you’re my soulmate and I couldn’t wish for anyone better.”

Baekhyun laughs wetly, blinking away tears, and Kyungsoo would be worried but the grin on Baekhyun’s face is the widest he’s ever seen it.

Baekhyun cups Kyungsoo’s cheeks and the kiss this time is similar to their first but it’s filled with so much passion, so much love, that Kyungsoo’s dizzy from the amount of happiness coursing through his veins.  But even if he fell, slipped right out of Baekhyun’s grasp, Kyungsoo knows that Baekhyun would catch him.

Now, and always.

☕ ☕ ☕

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I never know how to end stories.
> 
> 2\. This may seem pathetic to some but this is the most I've written for one story in a long time. Drabbles are more comfortable for me, long stories are not. Not that this is even really long, but, ya know.
> 
> 3\. I tried though so I hope that you enjoyed reading it!
> 
> 4\. (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧


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